Frank and Joan's news for 05 July 2008 in Northern Cyprus

Frank and Joan's Adventures in Northern Cyprus

Our adventures in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus continue....

We had originally decided that we had enough of eating out for a little while, but then the gang decided to try Rosy's place here in Lapta for the Thursday evening get together. It is in fact a beach bar just down the road which always seems to be quite busy. Good choice as we had some good food and they coped very well with a large crowd and at the end of the evening it only cost 25YTL each.

Newspaper day again and the headlines are that one of the marina projects has been turned down once more. The £12 million scheme for 543 berths and some apartments was turned down in 2005 and again in 2006 by the Supreme Monuments Council. There are two historic sites dating back to 400 BC near the site, one of which was an ancient port and the Department of Ancient Monuments is keen to protect this area. The site was leased to the new potential developer for a period of 49 years, in 2007. Is it me, or would I have thought seriously about signing the lease knowing it had been turned down on two previous occasions.

Mario

n Stokes of the HBPG has made another attempt at an initiative to resolve the issue of permissions to buy here. This time one of the leading bodies, the Construction Contractors Union, just failed to turn up for the meeting. She really must feel like giving up sometimes, as the authorities just don't seem to want to resolve all these issues. Maybe there are underlying reasons which the government is not telling about, maybe related to the overall land issue, linked to any future settlement on the island.

Yet another possible in the Aga Saga, or the Amaranta Valley project. Now it is reported that Gary Robb may sell out to two un-named firms from Turkey who will undertake to complete all his projects. Currently there is no work being undertaken on the site, despite a deal being brokered back in January. Two of the companies who have done work, say they have not been paid, so are barracading the site. This one just goes on and on with no resolution for the original investors and the damage being done to the building industry here is immense.

The government is once again desperate for income and their employees, of which there are many thousands, have decided to help out by going on strike for more money. There are so many people working, or sitting around attending and claiming pensions in government departments here that it is a huge drain on the economy. Having said that of course, there is no social security system, so this alternative of giving people jobs, forcing them to get up and attend probably costs no more, but is better for morale. The only problem for us and the local residents, is the continued rise in living costs here.

On the resolution to the overall island issue there has been another meeting between the two presidents, but there is considerable unease at the lack of any progress. They did agree to meet again later this month but after the original positive beginning this year things are back to normal. The issues are huge and a solution seems just as far away as it did when we came here in 2002.